Max Steel Reboot: Origins
by NightFuryOne
Summary: When Maxine McGrath and her mother settle into a small city called Copper Canyon, Max unleashes a power she never knew about: TURBO Energy. She joins N-Tek and meets new friends and bullies in school, not to mention the super-villains that are trying to hunt her friend Steel and herself. Join as Max tries to deal with everything that piles her way. Fem!Max - Additional Notes Inside
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! Okay. So I did something like this a while back, then got rid of it. But now I'm back! This is based off of the Max Steel 2013 series because I have not seen the 2000 series. So this story has a gender-swapped Max and that is one of the very few changes I have. If you have any suggestions please tell me in the reviews. This story is the Max Steel movie Origins. It is basically episodes 1 – 3 combined. Then the rest of the stories will represent one episode.**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Above the earth, in space, two of N-Tek's agents, Kat and Jefferson were on a mission to capture another Ultra-Link. Their "spaceship" zoomed over the earth, making a sonic blast in the process. The green and white ship twisted and turned.

"That is why they call me Captain Kaboom!" Jefferson laughed. Almost all of his dark hair was shaved off which left a buzcut on his head. The sound of a communicator came on and the face of Commander Forge came on the screen.

"Ferrus to SkyTeam One," Forge said. He had black hair with a streak of gray in it and had amber eyes. "Kat, any sign of the Ultra-Link yet?"

"No visual yet, Commander," Kat replied. She had short, blonde hair and almost gray eyes. A man in the back part of the ship, who was no less than 19, is Berto. He had dark brown hair and green eyes. He wore an armor suit quite similar to Forge's. He also wore a lab coat with the sleeves possibly torn off and the N-Tek logo on the top right of his "coat."

"Ultra-Link coming up on scopes now!" Berto called from the back. There were multiple screens showing what the team was looking for. "Time to target: T-minus 30..."

"Right," Ferrus said. "Nice and easy people." Jefferson rolled his eyes and Kat shook her head. They've had this conversation many times before they left. They then focused on driving, er, flying. "Remember, we want to capture the blasted thing not activate it."

Just a few meters behind them, three of Dredd's ships came up. They were driven by Dredd's bots. N-Tek's ship flew towards the Ultra-Link as Dredd's ships locked in on their target. The three ships zoomed to where SkyTeam One was heading: to the Ultra-Link.

"We've got three unidentified spacecraft!" Jefferson called. Dredd's ships blasted lasers at SkyTeam One.

Berto turned around in his chair. "Unidentified _hostile _spacecraft!" Lasers fired again and a few of them hit the ship.

Jefferson grunted. "These guys are packin' some serious firepower!" They swerved under the floating Ultra-Link as lasers fired at them again. Jefferson turned the ship ninety degrees to avoid the lasers.

Forge's voice sounded from the communicator. "Do not lose that target Jeffer-" His voice was cut off by Jefferson.

"A little busy right now, old man!" Jefferson said. He took a swift glance behind him just as a laser hit the rear of the ship. "Whoa!" An alarm and a holograph of the ship showed up. Two spots of the ship were highlighted. "Engines 2 and 4 are gone!"

Dredd's ships continued to fire at SkyTeam One. A mechanical hand popped out of the air lock. A blue orb formed between its claws and aimed at the Ultra-Link. The orb formed a laser which took hold of the ultra-link. The laser drew the Ultra-Link into the air lock.

"The cake is in the oven," Jefferson said, narrowly missing a couple lasers.

Berto's eyes widened. "And our friends here still wanna slice!" One of Dredd's ships veered upwards, barely skimming the top of the ship. Jefferson pulled back on the levers he was holding to control the ship. Another one of Dredd's ships had a red mechanical hand come out. The other two had done the same. The "hands" gripped onto the ship and red lasers started forming. One of the three ships had a laser start to cut into the airlock where the Ultra-Link was kept.

Frustrated, Jefferson jerked the levers forward, putting the ship into a mad thrust. He aimed the lasers at the ship in front of him and locked in. with the press of a button, two missiles fired at the ship, blowing it to bits. After that, SkyTeam One went skydiving towards the earth at top speed.

"SkyTeam One to base," Jefferson said. "We're coming in hot!" Kat managed to find a grip and pushed a lever forwards. A fire extinguisher popped out the back and started to get rid of the fire. Jefferson pulled the levers back, evening them out a bit. They flew, or more like glided, into a canyon full of tiers and mountains of rocks. They drifted to one of the tiers and the top of the tier disappeared. The ship sunk into the tier onto a green platform.

"Ultra-Link's ready for unload," Jefferson informed the N-Tek agents. "It's in the air lock guys!" As two agents came up to the ship, a large panel opened up revealing the Ultra-Link. The Ultra-Link was taken out and put onto a platform. A blue force-field held the Ultra-Link in place.

The agents then moved the platform into a room full of Ultra-Links embedded in the walls. Each one of them had a small section covered by a pixelated grid. A small tracker put itself on the center of the Ultra-Link and beams of light attached themselves to the Ultra-Link, keeping it in line. It moved left and up into an empty cell. The tracker came off and the grid was over the newly placed Ultra-Link. The agents walked out of the room. As they did, they passed one Ultra-Link that was in a container instead of with the other ones. One of the agents noticed.

"Wonder why this one's not locked up," he said, gesturing to the Ultra-Link. The taller agent glanced at it.

"Well that one hasn't been functional for years," he informed. "A relic from the past." They walked away from it without a second glance. Though as soon as they were a good distance away, the Ultra-Link started to glow as if it were reactivating.

* * *

Boxes laid in a pile on the ground next to a moving truck. A teenage girl, probably not older that 16, kicked the front door open, a huge box and a smaller one in her arms. She staggered down the steps, struggling with the boxes, and managed to get to the ground. She was only able to stand straight for a moment before the boxes' contents fell out. Weights and books clattered to the ground, the sound ringing in her ears.

She looked through the hole in the box and stared at the weights. Maybe she should have used better tape for the boxes. Her mother came up behind her. She looked at the weights scattered on the sidewalk.

"Really, Max?" her mom asked. "You're bringing your weights? You never use them."

"No wonder they're so hard to lift," Max said, smiling at her mom.

Molly chuckled. "It's really gotta just be the stuff we need," she said, tapping Max's chin. Molly walked back into the house to gather the rest of the boxes. Max looked around. There were kids playing in their front yards. Max hadn't made many friends this time. She had a few of them but she knew she would lose contact with them just like every other time.

The whole reason they were moving again was because her mom had gotten a job offer in Copper Canyon. So once again, Max had to switch schools, say goodbye to the friends she'd made there and start the terribly long packing. She knew it would happen she just didn't expect it to happen so soon. They had only been here for two years. The other times had been much longer.

She walked over to the moving truck. In one of the boxes, a picture of her mom and dad stuck out. Max had the same eyes and hair color as her father. The same bright blue eyes and the same dark brown hair. She picked up the photo. Max didn't really know her father. In fact, from what her mom told her, Max's father passed away before she had been born. Max always wondered what had happened to her dad but she never got around to asking. Her mom came up behind her, looked at the picture, and sighed. She reached over Max's shoulder and gently took the photo out of her hands.

"Okay!" Molly said, putting the picture frame back where it was. She placed the box she was holding in the truck as well. "New, new job – waddaya say, kiddo? Ready for a new adventure?" She closed the back of the truck, walked around the truck and into the driver's seat. Max sighed.

"Are we ever going to stay in one place?" she muttered as she moved into the passenger's seat. Molly started the car and they drove away from the town.

Behind where they were before they drove off, Forge Ferrus walked up. He put two fingers to his ear where a comm was placed. "They're on the move!" he said.

"Copy that, Commander," Kat said through the comm.

* * *

Jason Naught sat at his desk while his colleagues watched the latest THI commercial. They had just finished praising him on the good work when the picture of the guy he was working with showed up on one of his holographic screens.

"Alright," Jason said. "Get lost! I've got business to attend to." He shooed his colleagues away and sat down. He waited a couple seconds after his office doors closed before hitting a red button under his desk. He sat back as his chair sunk into the floor. A room full of holographic screens and monitors showed up as Jason stopped on the floor. His chair turned toward one of the bigger screens and a man's face popped up on the screen.

His face was haggard looking and he had a mask covering his mouth and nose. His brown hair was slightly unkempt; his red eyes had small creases underneath, as if he hadn't slept in weeks. He was angered alright.

"You have news, Mr. Naught?" the man on the screen growled, irritated.

"_Good _news, sir," Jason replied. He chuckled nervously. "Sales are up. 78 percent –"

"What of the Ultra-Link?" the man interrupted.

"Well, I'm afraid news on that front isn't quite as... rosy? Our forces were driven off by N-Tek." He finished in a rather quiet voice.

The man's eyes widened. "N-Tek!" He coughed, his voice turning hoarse once again. He banged on the glass he was behind. "If we do not find a suitable energy source to keep me alive, all that I have done, all that I have planned, schemed, stolen will all be for nothing. I MUST HAVE TURBO ENERGY!"

"We'll redouble our efforts, sir," Jason tried.

"Do not fail me! If this clock reaches zero," a timer counting down showed up on the screen. "it won't just signal my end, Mr. Naught." With that, the man disappeared from the screen. Jason sat back in his chair and swallowed nervously. He was in so much trouble.


	2. Chapter 2

**I got an idea from PrayerGirl. She suggested that I gender-bend Sydney and Kirby. I had never thought of that so thanks! I couldn't find an 'S' name for Sydney as a boy so I'm just going to name him/her Decker. And a big thanks to the rest of you for the reviews! They're a big help to me. Stay awesome doods! (Bonus points if you can figure out who that comes from) :)**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Max and her mom had just finished putting all the boxes and moving items in the apartment. They both were in the kitchen, Max eating and her mom in front of her. Boxes were piled everywhere, most of the opened.

"Now let's get a move on!" Molly urged. "We've both got big first days. Me at work and you at school!" Max groaned. Like every other kid, the last thing she wanted to do was go to school, especially since she was going to be the new kid all over again.

"C'mon, it'll be great! New friends! Cafeteria food! Tons of homework!"

"Yeah, a regular paradise on Earth," Max muttered sarcastically. But eventually, Molly managed to get Max up and out the door. Max got on her bike and started riding to the school, thankful that it wasn't too far away. She tipped back onto one wheel and stopped the bike in the railings. Leaping off the bike, she walked up the stairs into the school. She halted at the doorway.

There were some students roaming the halls, some were staring blankly at their lockers or on their phones. And three mean looking guys standing near the doorway. Max groaned, frustrated, as the guys looked at her. She knew what they were thinking. She started forward, hoping to not draw too much attention to herself. But of course, something went wrong. The guy in the middle, wearing a yellow shirt, tripped her up, lurching her forward into a blond guy in front of her.

They started laughing. "Have a nice trip!" one of them shouted. "See you next fall!" They left, chuckling at their lame joke.

Max pushed herself up onto all fours. "Really?" she muttered. "People still say that?"

"Nah, it's pretty much just him," a voice said in front of her. It was the guy she had run into. He had brown-green eyes and blond hair. Honestly, Max felt her breath get caught.

Something clicked in her head. "Don't tell me. School bully? What's his name? Moose? Biff? Flash?" She started picking up the papers.

"Bartholomew. But they call him Butch." He held out Max's science book.

Ah. That's it. "The stereotype lives." She reached forward and found herself face-to-face with the guy. They both glanced down at the book. _Oh crap, _Max thought. She swiftly put her book into her bag with the rest of her school supplies, trying to hide her embarrassment and possibly red cheeks.

Footsteps sounded in front of her where her helmet had dropped. "Welcome to Copper Canyon High, new kid," the voice said. She looked up to see a brown-haired girl coming towards her with her helmet. She stood up. "The wretched hive of scum and villainy. I'm Karly." Karly handed the helmet to Max.

"And I'm Decker," Decker said.

"Hey. Max." She took the helmet from Karly. The bell rang, signaling three minutes till first class. Decker started walking off.

"Well, see ya around. Max." He along with Karly walked to their first class. Max took a deep breath and sighed. She knew it. She knew she had a crush on Decker.

* * *

When the end of the day came, Max couldn't say she's been more relieved. It hadn't gone as bad as she thought it would have. Her helmet in hand, she jumped over the rails and took her bike out of the racks. Behind her, Butch and his gang ran out of the school, Karly right behind them. Max stared in confusion. What were they doing? That's when she saw Karly try and grab the bag out of Butch's hand only to be stopped he his other.

Butch lifted the backpack out of her reach and tossed it to one of his buddies. _Oh boy, here goes nothing, _Max thought as she sat on her bike. She would have to wait for just the right moment. Butch's buddy tossed it back to him. Max rode towards them with great speed. Butch was standing there, expecting nothing but to catch the bag, holding his arms out for the backpack. Max sped into the circle the gang had created and caught the bag midair. She slammed on the brakes, leaving skid marks on the concrete.

"Come on, guys, this is the twenty-first century," she said, holding the backpack to the side. She nodded at Karly. "Don't you do your bullying online these days?" She tossed the bag to Karly. Butch glared at Max as he pushed Karly out of the way and stalked towards her.

"So I help the kid getting picked on an' now _I _get picked on. That's not very original, _Bartholomew._" Strange. She sounded so much braver than she felt. She was though taunting him and knew that wouldn't end well. Butch started forward but didn't have much time to do anything for Max had moved and swiped his hat off his head, startling him and knocking him over.

She turned around. "See ya next fall!" She tossed the hat behind her and rode forward.

She heard Butch slam his fists onto the ground. "AFTER HER!" She glanced over her shoulder to see the three guys riding after her. How had they gotten on their bikes so quickly? She was already off campus, the guys gaining speed. They were on the streets, somehow missing the passing cars. Max felt something in her eyes burn and something ring in her ears. Soon, she was pedaling way faster than she was before.

She looked back. The guys were way behind her now. "What?" she asked herself. How the heck had that happened? Oh well. She didn't mind. She had a pretty big lead now. Unfortunately, that didn't last long. She looked in front of her and only had a split second to register what was happening. First she was just riding down the street and the next, she was stuck, head-first into a truck full of boxes.

Her bike was stuck in the hole she just made, hanging on by the handle bar. She stood up. They had caught up fast. "There she is!" she heard one of them shout. They weren't very far from her now. She busted the back doors open, tossed her helmet to the side and started running. She would have to get her bike back later.

She felt the flare again and heard the ring. But instead of pedaling, she was running faster than the bikes. She turned into a corner, hoping to lose them. Though, she kept running. She looked at her hands as if she expected them to pop out an answer to her question.

"What's happening to me?" she asked. Flares? Ringing? Intense speed? What in the world was going on? Her phone rang in her pocket. "Uh, hey Mom? Can't talk right now!" She looked behind her. The guys were still on their bikes.

"Max, it's Decker. From school." the voice said on her phone. Max felt her heart skip a beat.

"Decker? Oh, hey. How'd you get my number?" Max was panting by now. How much longer could she keep this up? She ran back into the street. This time a couple of cars passed so she had to jump over one. She guessed it lead to honking and words even she wasn't allowed to use.

"I didn't," Decker said. "I got your phone. And you've got mine. Musta gotten mixed up this morning."

Max pulled the phone away from her ear. Decker was right. Max was holding a red phone instead of her blue one. "How'd I miss that?" she wondered. She put it back to her ear.

"Let's meet up tomorrow and swap," Decker suggested.

"Uh, yeah! Yeah sure. I uh -" The phone sparked. She had to pull it away to keep from hurting her ear. Someone grabbed her shoulder causing her to yelp. Then another guy came up on the other side. They were the two guys who were with Butch.

"Who's headed fer a fall now, hero?" the one on the right mocked. She wormed out of the grasps and stopped herself on the concrete. The other two, however, weren't as lucky as Max. They ended up falling down the steps, screaming, as one skidded and fell and the other got launched into the dumpster.

Max turned around. She knew that Butch was the last one standing. And there he was, charging towards her. Max took a left and started running. A fence came into view. _Oh no, _she thought. _Please don't tell me I'm gonna get stuck. _Then the flare happened again. This time though, she needed it. She jumped and soared over the fence while Butch crashed head-on into it.

Max was practically flying through the air. "Whoa..." she muttered. And then she looked up. She was heading straight for a brick building! She shrieked as she crashed through the window, shards of glass spreading all over the room. She, herself, tumbled through the room, knocking into barrels, boxes, and more barrels. She slid on the floor, hardly conscious of her surroundings. She knew she was sprawled out on the floor, but she wasn't aware of the three guys coming up the stairwell.

She tried to push herself up. This wasn't normal. "What's happening to me?" She collapsed, too exhausted at the moment to get up.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 4**

Max could feel the world trying to flip upside-down. The cuts the glass made on her didn't help the fiery pain coursing through her. She was dimly aware that she was in a building and that there were three sets of footsteps coming up the stairs. She wondered if the footsteps were made by the bullies trying to find her.

If it was, then she would have to deal with them. Although, she really felt like just falling asleep. The last thing she wanted to do was fight. And of course, with her luck, the bullies stood in front of her, the two on the side staring smugly at her and Butch looking slightly unsure.

"So, should we get her?" one of them asked.

Butch shook his head, clearly deciphering the best plan. "For once, I have no idea what to do with this one."

"Well, we can't just let her go!" the other one cried indignantly. "We got beaten by a _girl_. You may not want to do this, but I am not going to let this go." He started forward and Max shot to her feet. Max rolled to her left as the guy went face-first into the wall. The one who hadn't gotten face crushed charged forward as well. Max used this to her advantage. She stuck out one of her legs and tripped him. He flew next to his comrade, doing the exact same thing.

_Two down, one to go, _Max thought. _I hope this one doesn't pull a ridiculous stunt like the others. _Butch took a few careful steps forward, as if unsure if Max was going to flip him or not. _Now what's he doing? _She backed up as Butch came a little too close for comfort. As soon as that happened, Butch's eyes changed from curious to frustrated.

_Alright, this I can deal with. _He ran towards her and Max jumped up, grabbing onto one of the bars above. She pulled herself just out of reach. She swung back and pushed Butch into a pile of barrels in the back. Max smirked. That would do it. She dropped down. And unfortunately, that was the wrong thing to do. The two guys that had slammed into the walls came charging at her once again.

She flipped backwards, letting the guys ram into each other. The sound of metal brought Max's attention to Butch who was looking at her indecisively. Then he seemed to make up his mind. "Let's get out of here!" he shouted. He and his friends ran for the stairs.

_Finally, _Max thought, relieved. She looked at her hands to make sure she hadn't messed anything up. Though no signs of injury showed, her hands were glowing blue.

"This better not be because of the flare," she muttered. She waited a few seconds. Nothing changed. It, in fact, seemed to get stronger. "Why isn't it going away? And why is it hurting so much?" Her stomach felt worse than before, the cuts from earlier were really starting to sting, and a splitting headache was not helping her case.

_This is not good. _Then, she blew herself up. She saw a flash of blue, she heard a scream (probably hers), and then everything went dark.

* * *

On one of the holo-screens, a blue signal popped up, making one of THI's agents snap his head up. "Sir!" he said. "We just recorded a massive surge of Turbo energy!"

Jason sighed. "There is no Turbo energy on this planet. Except for the boss and he's almost toast..." He walked over to where the agent was standing.

"Largest Turbo energy surge recorded. In this city!"

Jason pushed him out of the way to see what was going on. The agent was right. A Turbo signal was right there on the screen. "Well don't just stand there jabbering! Sound the alarms, release the hounds! Do whatever it is you do and bring me that Turbo energy!" He rushed off to his office and pressed the red button underneath his desk. He sat in his chair as he was lowered into the ground. He dropped down where his boss was waiting for information.

"Sir!" Jason called as Dredd came up on the screen. "I have incredible news!"

"Tell me you found an UltraLink!" Dredd said, facing Jason.

"Even better! We detected a massive surge of Turbo energy. Point of origin: Copper Canyon."

"Mr. Naught. Suspend all UltraLink capture operations immediately. We're going to hunt down this new Turbo source. And I know just the hunter to do it."

* * *

When Max regained consciousness, she saw two people in front of her: a woman with blonde hair and a guy behind her, probably not much older than herself.

"Get Forge," the woman said to someone beyond Max's range of vision at the moment. She guessed it was a male, considering the low hum of his voice.

"Who...?" Max mumbled, sitting up slightly. "Where?" She had more questions on her mind, but she could only form a few coherent words at the moment.

"I'm Kat," the woman said. "And this is Berto." She gestured to the guy behind her. Max was about to introduce herself when a voice rang out.

"Give us a minute," the voice said. It sounded strangely familiar. She watched as Kat and Berto left the room. Who they passed by is what surprised Max.

"Uncle Ferrus!" she exclaimed. She stood up, ignoring her throbbing head, and rushed right into Forge. He was always one of the few people she went to when she was in a tough spot. This was one of those times.

"Hey kid," Forge said, wrapping his arms around his niece. "Welcome to N-Tek. Heard you're in a tough spot."

Max chuckled. "I'll say." She pulled back and glanced at the ground. "What's happening to me? All this weird stuff has been happening. First I start getting these weird blue flares, then I start getting massive pains, and now I blew myself up!" She dropped her arms to her sides hopelessly. She could never be more confused in her life. Forge sighed, as if he knew this was coming.

"Come on, kid. I'll explain." Forge signaled for Max to follow him so she did. He led her through one of the hallways of the large area.

* * *

Dredd walked through one of the rooms is his lab of sorts and up to a platform where he contacts most of his colleagues/rivals. A screen popped up and he pressed one of the buttons. The screen turned off. On the platform in front of him, a large holograph of a Fire Elementaur popped up.

"YOU?!" Elementaur said. "I told you if you were ever to contact us again I would -"

"Yes, yes hurting, breaking, maiming, I remember," Dredd interrupted. "I have an assignment mutually beneficial to both of us, Elementaur."

Elementaur got close up in Dredd's face. "I'm... listening."

Max and Forge walked through N-Tek. Most of it, as Max noticed, was pretty much covered in green and white. The place was huge, she could agree on. _Man, I'm going to need a GPS to get around here, _she thought. And she thought her high school was big.

"Your father," Forge said. "he started all this."

Max looked at Forge. "You worked with my dad?" She had never known much about what her dad did even though her mom had tried millions of times to explain what her dad did. It just never stuck in her head.

"We founded N-Tek. Well, us and Miles. Miles Dredd. He also passed." Max noticed the nostalgic tone of Forge's voice. So he was good friends with her dad and this Dredd person, whoever he was. They ended up in one of the landing spots for the aircraft. One of N-Tek's jets was parked on a holographic floor. A few agents were working on it.

Max gaped at the room. But somehow, she thought that 'room' wouldn't cut it. The walls seemed like they weren't replaced with wood or anything. They looked like cavern walls which only made it look cooler. "Wow... This is crazy. I.. I had no idea." She never knew about N-Tek.

"N-Tek is a secret organization." Forge's voice echoed throughout the room. "We work towards solving the big problems: global warming, alternative fuel sources."

"So, what's the awesome tank for?" She gestured to a badly beaten up tank, also painted green and white just like all the other vehicles.

"C'mon. There's something I think you want to see." They started walking to a different direction, leading them into an empty room. There weren't any busily working agents, or loud people scampering about. There was, however, a holographic shrine of someone Max found very familiar.

"...Dad?" she mumbled. A shrine, just for her father. Maybe he was more popular than she thought.

"Your father was an amazing man," Forge said as he laid a hand on Max's shoulder. "He had discovered one of the rarest, most powerful types of energy in the universe: Tachyon Unlimited Radiant Bio-Optimized Energy. Turbo energy for short." And she couldn't even remember most of her history lessons. "But there was an accident. All of your father's work was destroyed... along with your father and Miles Dredd."

Forge brought her around to where a deactivated UltraLink was put on display. "This was the last thing your father was working on before the end."

Max tilted her head to the side curiously. "What is it?"

"Nothing. Not anymore, at least." Forge started walking again. Max followed him, casting a glance at the UltraLink. She kind of felt drawn to it. She wasn't sure how to explain it but she felt like she had something to do with it. But she walked away from it anyway. However, when they weren't looking, the UltraLink glowed and blinked, sending off the same ring that Max's flares had.

"So this Turbo Energy my dad was working on? That's why I'm getting theses weird flares and blowing myself up? I was exposed to this stuff?"

"Now it seems you're generating this stuff. We've been watching you for a long time, wondering what would happen." A massive door opened before them.

"And... you can help me?"

Forge motioned her inside. "We can definitely help." As Max walked in, Forge walked a different way. Up to the observation room. The door closed behind Max, startling her a bit. And after all that's happened, she thought she wouldn't be so easily scared.

She walked across on of the holographic bridges, leading to a platform in the center of the room. "What is this place?"

"This is the Turbo Chamber, Max," Forge's voice rang out. She looked behind her to see him and Berto separated from her by glass. He and Berto were hunched over controls, though Forge looked at her every now and then. "It'll keep you power levels under control." He gave a slight nod to Berto. The bridges suddenly were retracted as huge metal claws came out of the walls. The claws opened up.

"So, I'm stuck here?" Max implied.

"Right now this is the only way to keep you and everyone else around you safe."

"What?" Max turned around just to see a large, blue energy ball forming in the center of the claw behind her. Beams shot out from it, keeping Max in place. The other two claws did the same. She was stuck, she realized. Truly stuck. Her mind went into panic mode. This happened whenever she felt trapped or unsafe. She started struggling.

The flare came back, giving her a surge of strength. But it wasn't enough to get her out of this situation. The Ultra-Link, not too far from the room she was in, started glowing again and this time, levitated in the air. She heard Berto whistle. Apparently, her energy levels were being studied unbeknownst to her.

Max started breathing heavily. The flare was getting strong now. The Ultra-Link started spinning rapidly. The flare had really taken over now. She looked at herself and realized that she was literally blue. She could see the Turbo Energy coursing through her which made her feel sick. The flare had finally unhinged the claws from the walls. One came flying towards her and the other two dropped below.

She heard Forge and Berto being slammed against the wall. Maybe the Turbo was becoming a little much. She could move, but she was scared about falling. The Turbo flares were filling her with too much strength and she didn't know what do to about it. She felt like she was a bit crammed with all of the Turbo. She had to have something sustain it, though she had no idea on _how _to do that.

"She's going critical!" Berto shouted. He was correct, alright. She definitely felt like she was going critical.

"Route all auxiliary power to the containment field," Forge commanded.

"I... it's no good! She's too powerful!"

Max felt something ball up in her hands. She looked down to see an energy ball. _Maybe I can use this to bust out. _She drew back, like a pitcher would, and threw the energy ball at the door. She saw the hinges almost give out but it wasn't enough. _Come on. One more should do it. _She focused and created one more energy ball. She threw it just like she had the other one.

The Ultra-Link started spinning even faster now and soon, it had broken free of the capsule it was in. It zoomed to the room Max was in. At the same time, the door had collapsed off its hinges and revealed the speeding Ultra-Link. Max yelped. She covered her head as the Ultra-Link stopped right in front of her.

"Human," it said. "You are about to overload."

"What...?" Overload? A sphere talking? How much crazier can this get?

"Steel?" Forge said, disbelievingly. "That's not possible!"

Max started panting. She felt the same kind of explosion coming on, but at the same time, she knew it wouldn't do any damage. "What's happening to me?"

The Ultra-Link started rotating wildly in front of Max. Then, she felt something explode, but everything was just about the same. Except for where the Ultra-Link was. Instead of the sphere, a small... she didn't even know what to call it. A robot, type, thingy, was right were the sphere was.

Max swore she was going crazy as everything seemed to turn blue.


	4. Chapter 4

**I screwed up in the first chapter. I did some research and found out the Max's father had actually passed away before Max was born. So I fixed that and now I feel better. Dunno why I didn't know that. I had a mind battle over it for a while. And not to mention that I also had a bit of trouble describing what Steel looks like. I mean, Steel looks like... Steel. I finally decided on describing his "hull," if that is the right word, as teardrop shaped. That's what he looks like to me. Now without any further ado, Chapter 4 is up!**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

"Human," the robot-thing said carefully as it slowly floated towards her. No joke. The thing was actually floating in mid-air. There was nothing holding it to the ground. "If you're agreeable, my matrix can halt your Turbo detonation, and together we can flee." It circled around Max and stopped by her shoulder. It rested one of its 'arms' on her shoulder. She flinched.

She wasn't sure what she was looking at. The thing in front of her had a hull that was teardrop shaped and two long arms by his - er, its... ah she decided to just call it a he - sides. To be more specific, one at his side and the other resting on Max's shoulder. A bright blue optic was in the center of its hull.

"Okay, so..." Max took a deep breath to calm herself. This was all so crazy. "So you're saying you can stop me from blowing up and get me outta here?"

"Did I not just say that?" he asked her, giving her a look. Max noted there was a hint of deadpan in his voice.

"What do I have to do?" Max asked as Steel flew in front of her.

"Just sit back and leave the driving to N'Baro Aksteel X377." He did a spin in the air which Max determined was his way of an introduction.

But his name? "Nebagaleca... who?"

He sighed. "Just call me Steel, yeah?" He turned around.

"This is crazy!"

"Crazy? You ain't seen nothing yet!" With that Steel moved into a stiff position where his arms were sticking out and bent at the joints. Unexpectedly, he slammed onto Max's chest, nearly knocking her backwards. She didn't have time for that, however, when she started to feel balanced. The Turbo energy pain was starting to subside and she even felt a bit better. She felt something being pressed against her legs like pants, the same with her arms, chest and back.

Then everything stopped.

There was no pain, no explosions, just silence. She clenched her fists to make sure she could still feel her hands. Though there was something strange, something that Max couldn't figure out just by touch. She blinked a few times to clear her vision, since she had been squeezing her eyes shut just a moment ago. She was still in the room and nothing was destroyed. She looked at herself.

She was wearing a full-body suit. It was mostly white and gray in the front along with spots of blue. The blue spots were glowing slightly, like it was showing the Turbo energy coursing through her. She looked over her shoulder. Just about her entire back was completely covered with blue. By then she was sure the suit was showing the Turbo off. The suit was up to her neck and formed a collar right at the base of her neck. She moved her arms around. The suit was like a perfect fit. She could move perfectly in it.

"I feel... amazing," she muttered. Then something hit her. She was supposed to go to school in _this_? How was she going to be able to take it off?

"Stop them!" Forge shouted as a mass of agents ran to the room where Max and Steel were in. "But don't hurt them!"

Max looked at the charging agents. There were about six of the coming towards her from what she could see. She took a step back as the bridges came out of the walls. She contemplated running, but didn't have time to make a decision when a voice rang in her head. And it wasn't her own.

"Human," Steel said. Max looked around the room for him, but he was nowhere to be seen. "I am initiating protocol counter-measures in three..."

Wait a second...

"Are you inside my head?!" Max exclaimed.

"Yes. Two..."

"Wait, Steel?" What exactly *were* protocol counter-measures?

"One!" Instantly, Max felt like she wasn't in control of her own body. She was suddenly flying through the air, her fist brought back, ready to punch. She hit one of the agents head on. He flew backwards as Max managed to get behind him and shove him out of the way. Although, she could hardly say this was her doing. She literally was not in control. Counter-measures? Inside her head? A light bulb clicked on. _Steel_ was the one who was controlling Max. But how was that even possible? She flipped a couple more agents.

"Sorry!" she shouted. She wasn't doing this on purpose after all. She stopped in front of Forge and faked him out with a bunch of punches to the side. She, or rather, Steel managed to make him fall over.

"Ah! Sorry, Uncle Ferrus!" She ran past him. She listened to their footsteps echoing behind her. She focused on where she and Steel were headed and she soon found herself on a motorcycle. A helmet formed over her head.

"Okay, the helmet's a nice touch." She felt her hand go on one of the handle bars and she revved the engine. She realized something. "Wait, I can't drive this thing!"

"You are not driving," Steel said. Oh, right. Her foot floored it. She zoomed forward briefly on one wheel before evening out on both of them. They had a clear path so far until one of the jets came into view.

"Oh crud!" Max wanted to hit the breaks. She wanted to stop all this craziness and wake up like this was all a dream. But she knew that this felt too real to be a dream regardless of how ridiculously crazy this was. She heard Forge order something complicated behind her and the bridge in front started to disappear. She screamed as Steel maneuvered the bike onto the slanted wing of the jet. They flew over the gap and skidded on the ground when they landed. Two agents stopped in front of them. Max somehow knew what Steel was about to do.

"I'm really sorry about this!" Her hand clamped on one of the hand breaks and they slid into the agents, knocking them off their feet. They were headed straight for one of the walls. She braced herself for impact but only felt herself go through thin air. It was as if the wall wasn't really there. She took a glance behind herself to see that the cavern wall was still most certainly there. More confusing stuff for her to learn about. Great.

The bike suddenly sparked underneath her.

She, with all her will, sharply drew her hands back, which probably the stupidest thing to do on a high speed bike. "My Turbo energy's affecting the bike! It's out of control!" A screen popped up on the information box confirming her suspicions. The whole bike on the screen started turning red.

"No matter," Steel said as Max's helmet disappeared. "It's no more use to us anyway." The bike hit a pothole in the ground causing Max to yelp and grip the handles. She looked dead ahead and hardly registered what she saw. There was a cliff and a huge drop below it. Max didn't even have time to curse her luck before the bike plunged into the abyss.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Max screamed as the bike plummeted through the abyss. She felt something happen in the bike and four green holo-strings popped out from four points in the bike. She looked up and a holographic parachute formed along the strings.

She caught her breath. "Really?!" she breathed. "You couldn't have mentioned thins this had a parachute?" She wouldn't have been as frightened if she had known there was a parachute with the bike.

"What is your designation, human?" Steel asked. Max nearly jumped. She forgot that Steel was inside her head as well as on the suit. And there is a huge difference to hearing someone talk directly to you and inside your head. You could _feel _them talking.

"What? Oh! My name? Maxine. Maxine McGrath. And... uh, what are you exactly?"

"I am a techno-organic X377 Omega Class Bio-Parasitic UltraLink Warrior." he said. Well, Max did ask for the exact term. "My matrix is powered by Turbo energy. You have reactivated me."

Max blinked. _My head really hurts now, _she thought.

"Okay... now can you please tell me what the heck this suit is for and why you're in my head before I go _insane_?"

Steel popped off the suit and hovered in front of Max. "We're UltraLinked. I am designed to absorb and control my host's energy. Once an UltraLink has bonded with its host, the connection is unbreakable. The suit is to keep your Turbo energy under control."

"'Under control'?" Max repeated.

"The suit is one of the main things that keeps you from blowing up, as you call it. It is unsafe for you to remove it."

"Oh. Brilliant." Now what was she supposed to do? She couldn't go to school in _this_! "Let me get this straight. I can't take this suit off because I will blow up if I do and we are stuck together?"

"That, Maxine, is correct. We must link up every eight hours or else you will overload with Turbo energy and I will deactivate."

Max bit her lip. She had a lot riding on the line here. "This is just great," she muttered. She didn't ask for this. She looked down just as the bike touched the ground. The parachute disappeared and Max got launched off the bike. She flipped onto the ground. She groaned. Her headache was coming back in waves now.

"This is no time for rest," Steel said as Max looked up. "Up!" Steel raised his arms and suddenly Max was on her feet. Her head vibrated. It was like she could not only hear him when he was off the suit and in front of her, but she could also hear his voice in her head. Weird...

"Hey!" she exclaimed indignantly. Not this again.

Steel shushed her. He swept one of his arms across, revealing a bunch of panels. "Running complete diagnostic of core matrix functionality." He tapped the tips of his arms together as he stared at Max, thinking. He started moving his arms around, making Max do tricks. She stood on one hand, did a disco pose, stood tall and straight, and then got flung over Steel. Max slid on the ground once again.

"Everything seems to check out... except... damage to my memory core," Steel said. Max felt the flare coming on. She felt her eyes flare again.

_Ow, _she thought.

"But I can't remember how..."

Max grabbed Steel. "Okay I want to get one thing straight. Why do you feel it necessary to control me like that? It is not something I enjoy." Steel started shaking and doing the same kind of thing that happened to Max whenever there was a flare coming on. "Hey. What are you doing?"

"I am not doing anything!" he shouted, sparking as he did so. "You're energy output is overriding my Turbo dampeners!"

"Well, make it stop!"

Steel's optic narrowed. "Detonation in three..."

"Oh no, no, no – do _not _start counting down again!"

"... two..."

"What do I do?!"

"... one... throw me!" Steel's voice had risen and even Max could hear the panic in his voice.

"What?" Surely she hadn't heard him right.

"Throw me now!"

_Ah, crud. _She drew Steel back and threw him towards one of the rock towers. He yelled as he flew into the rocks. Max heard the same ring that happens with her flares, and Steel made the top of the rocks blow up. Boulders flew across the canyon and Steel toppled down, hitting most of the points in his way. He landed on the ground just as one of the boulders fell on top of him.

"Steel!" Max shouted. She ran over to where he was being crushed by the rock, and pulled it off of him. He was sparking off every joint he had in his arms and his optic was changing between emoticons. "You okay there?" She tossed the rock away. She guessed that was not part of the plan.

Steel grunted as he pushed himself off the ground. "Apparently, Maxine, we make a painfully explosive combination." He glitched and flopped on the ground again.

"I have to admit, that was pretty cool." Steel managed to get himself up. "I wonder what else we're capable of..."

"My technological acumen combined with your Turbo powers? Probably a great deal."

"Let's find out. Um..." She didn't know why but she just had to say something to make this look cool. "Go... Turbo?" Steel did his little formation and slammed onto the same spot where he connects to the suit. The suit did the thing, but Max didn't feel anything change.

"Hmm. I don't feel any different," she said, looking down to see if anything _did _change.

"'Go Turbo'?" Steel repeated. "Really?"

"I dunno. I thought it'd be cool. Like a catch-phrase or something? Like a superhero? You know... up, up, and away?" She stuck her arms out in a superman pose for emphasis.

"Oi," Steel groaned. "Let's try ii again."

With more confidence, Max shouted, "Go Turbo!" She felt the suit trying to something as the whole matrix thing formed an energy shield around her. Unbeknownst to her and Steel, the fire Elementaur stood on top of the cliff, a fireball forming in his hand.

The suit pieced back together and Max felt a strong heat at her feet. "Gah! We're on fire!" She clapped the fire out. "Okay, what'd you do this time?"

"It wasn't me!" Steel cried, just as confused as Max was.

Max sighed. "Then who set us on fire?"

"It. Was. Me!" a raspy voice rang out from above them. Max looked up, and nearly fell over. What she saw, was pretty much terrifying. The thing was huge for one. It was covered in fire, had a bright red orb in his head and chilled Max to the bone. The Elementaur growled loudly at her.

"I never thought I'd hear myself ask this question, but: is that a fire monster coming at us?" Max stepped back.

"Affirmative," Steel said.

"Don't suppose you can whip us up a fire-extinguisher?"

"Negative. Look out!" Max snapped her head up to attention. The Elementaur was charging towards them, a fireball in his hand. He threw it at them. Max yelped as she dove to one side, narrowly avoiding the incoming fireball. She stopped a few meters away from the Elementaur.

"Come with me, or meet your end!" he shouted.

"Ya know, uh, I'm not having the best day today, so thanks but uh, no thanks." She swallowed nervously. There was that sounding much braver than she felt again. Why did she have to get herself sucked into this?

"So be it." The Elementaur brought his fists onto the ground, forming a fire circle around Max.

She looked around. "Whoa. Can we take him?"

"Hmm. Insufficient data," Steel said. Max frowned. Like _that _was helpful. The Elementaur's yells brought her mind back. She stepped back as he charged. Max didn't have anything else to help her so she got a running start and leaped off the ground, using the Elementaur as a spring board to help her flip over. She sailed right across and landed on the other side.

"Uh, Maxine. Your hands!" Max looked at her hands and they were on fire.

"Yah!" She waved her hands around to put out the flames. The Elementaur was not finished with her yet. He charged her once again and hit her, causing her to sail to the rocky cliff behind her. "Okay, this isn't working."

"Clearly."

Max dodged another fireball. "What if I throw you again?" The explosion he made could definitely take the Elementaur out.

"Let's not and say we did." So he obviously hated that. Max rolled to the side, avoiding the flames aimed at her. "What we need is more power."

"That I can do!" Max stood up, glaring at the Elementaur that was currently walking towards them.

"Hold on... scanning for modes. Ah! Try _this _on for size!" On Max's screen showed an image of the suit, only slightly larger and bulkier. To her, it honestly looked like a different version of the Hulk.

_Hm... _"Go Turbo! Strength!" Eh. It sounded okay. The suit lit up and the matrix started forming the mode. It pieced together and when it stopped, Max was completely amazed. "Look at me!"

"That is Defense Protocol X795, by the way," Steel said.

"Yeah, alright. Turbo Strength mode it is!" A fireball was launched her way. "Aah!" She bent back to avoid the hit.

"You are UltraLink?" the Elementaur asked. He started running. "No matter." Max didn't have time to yell before the Elementaur was right in front of her. But Max thought quick. She flipped the Elementaur over her head and he crashed into the ground. She jumped up and started coming down on him. But just as she hit the ground, the Elementaur dispersed.

He came up behind her. He brought his fists down upon her and Max caught them, with a lot of difficulty. She managed to keep the fists from pushing her down but the Elementaur started pushing her backwards.

"Yes," he said. "Make this interesting for me." Max's hands started burning.

"Surface temperature rising rapidly," Steel informed her. "We need more power!"

The Elementaur growled. "Shall I turn up the heat?!" He pushed her back and set the suit on fire. She could feel the heat, literally. The Elementaur threw a fireball at Max, knocking her back.

She stood up, hurting a lot, but standing. "You can blast me all you want, you pyromaniac! The suit's fireproof!" As she had just found out about.

"And air conditioned," Steel added. Well, that she didn't know.

"Then I'll simply rip you from your shell!" The Elementaur shouted. Max charged, her fist brought back, ready to strike. However, the Elementaur had different plans. He grabbed Max's head – which was not a comfortable position for her – and punched her in the gut. It didn't hurt as much as she thought it would, thankfully. The Elementaur threw her against one of the rock walls. She grunted as her back slammed onto the wall. Even Steel was groaning by then.

"Core system offline," he said as the suit went back to normal. Max started panting. Her back was aching like crazy and she couldn't really think straight. She hardly managed to register the Elementaur picking her up and tossing her around in the air. She felt like losing her lunch. She was slammed against the ground and the walls. The back of her head hit the wall as well and she saw spots dancing in her eyes. The Elementaur grabbed her once again and swung her behind him.

"I will crack you open like a –" He didn't get to finish as Max slipped from his grip. He looked back. "Oops..."

Max screamed, finally realizing what was happening. "This suit doesn't have a built in parachute, does it?"

"That's a negative," Steel said, the panic rising in his voice once again.

"Well then, it's been nice knowin' ya."

"Really?"

"What do you think metal-brain?!" She flailed in the air, glancing back at the ground every now and then.

"Ditto.."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Crud, crud, crud!" Max screamed. "What do we do?!"

"Uh... working on it," Steel said. "Desperate times call for desperate measures. I'm calling N-Tek."

Max, despite her situation, looked around in confusion. "I thought your memory core was damaged. How do you know about N-Tek?"

"Well, it is, but that doesn't mean I wasn't able to read one of the logos."

"Oh, yeah." She had forgotten for a moment that there were logos around her when she was in the building. She wondered what Steel was thinking, calling N-Tek. Wouldn't she just be put back in that Turbo chamber? And what about Steel? What was Forge going to do to him? She looked around. She was calmer than she thought she would be, even though she could feel the fear rising in her chest.

But as the ground neared she felt her throat close up. And as soon as she was a few inches away from her going _splat_ on the ground, something held her back. Was it N-Tek? She hardly had time to look at what had caught her before she was sucked back into the air and onto an airship.

She looked at it and immediately knew who it was. "Uncle Ferrus," she guessed. She was relieved, that was no joke. Steel disconnected and went ahead. Max decided to follow him. The door opened before them and revealed Forge at the front, driving the airship. She took a deep breath in hopes of calming her racing heart.

"Are you two okay?" Forge asked as Max and Steel sat down in the seat next to Forge.

"I guess you could say that," Max told him cautiously. "Just a quick question. What the heck was that thing?!"

"Giant fire monster," he said casually. Max stared at him. He just answered it. Just like that.

"Okay... Now if you consider being attacked by a giant fire monster, getting slammed against the canyon walls, and nearly getting killed by the fall _okay_, then I guess I am."

Forge sighed. "I know this may be confusing for you kid, but I'm sure I can explain to you what is happening. What I want to know is how on Earth you are still alive?" Max turned to Steel, since it was his turn to answer a question.

"Well, you could say that it is partly because of Maxine, here," Steel said, gesturing to Max. She stared at him strangely. He took a small glance at her. "She is the one who reactivated me."

"What were you thinking back there? Stealing N-Tek gear? Knocking down agents?"

"We were escaping, obviously."

"Escaping? You weren't a prisoner."

Steel's emoticon changed from his optic to an exclamation point. "I wasn't? Oh. My apologies."

Forge sighed and shook his head. "I just can't believe you're back, Steel. It's good to see you again."

Max wrinkled her eyebrows together in confusion. "Hold up," she said, bending over the capsule to look at her uncle. "I thought you said that Steel was my dad's science project. You never mentioned anything about Steel being your long lost buddy."

"That's beside the point," Forge countered. "I need you two to do something. First, Steel, I need you to suppress Max's energy signature."

"Suppress my... what?" she asked.

"That's how the Fire Elementaur tracked her, isn't it?" Steel asked.

"Yep," Forge answered. "And I need you to get rid of it so they can't track her."

"No problem." Steel went into his formation and slowly backed into Max''s chest as not to scare her worse than she already was. Max held as still as she could, thinking that she could mess something up if she moved. There was a moment of silence before Steel's voice rang in her head. "Signature suppressed."

"Next, neither of you are to mention this to your mom," Forge ordered.

"She'll kill us if she finds out," Max and Forge said in unison because they both knew it was true. They flew on in silence as Max tried to understand everything that was happening. Steel had disconnected and was watching Max carefully, not exactly sure what to say. She held her head in her hands. Just when she thought things were going to go back to normal, this happened. She started generating Turbo energy and a robot started controlling it. She got stuck with a weird outfit, she couldn't tell her mom what was happening and a bunch of monsters just had to start attacking her.

"When did this all get so messed up?" Max asked herself. Steel, however, heard her and floated a little closer to her. He was at loss for words, as was Forge. He had never seen his niece like this. Sure he'd seen her in her worse moments, but she hardly ever showed the terrified side of her. Hardly any people saw that side. He briefly took his hand away from the controls to give Max a comforting pat on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, kid," he said in the calmest voice he could, considering how worried he was. "We'll get through this. Steel and I will be here to help you out. You're not alone." He brought his hand back to the controls and focused his stare ahead. Max peered at him through her hands. She knew he was just trying to help, though despite his best efforts, Max still felt like gunk. The Turbo energy within her wasn't hurting but she could still feel it. She really couldn't understand how she was going to tolerate this during school. And having Steel's voice in her head? She couldn't talk to him with her thoughts. She would have to people would think she was crazy.

She looked around through the window. They were coming to a landing when Forge gave Max a quick briefing. "Remember. No one can know that you have Turbo energy in you or that you're UltraLinked with Steel. You have to keep this a secret. Keep a low profile."

"Low profile," she repeated. "Got it." She and Steel exited the airship and towards the direction to Max's house. They avoided as many people as possible, thankful it was near nightfall. When they came up at the door, Max opened it as quietly as she could. She held a finger to her lips to ensure Steel wouldn't make a sound. Of course, Max being Max, she managed to trip on one of the boxes and made a huge ruckus.

"Max? Is that you, hon?" Molly called as one of the doors opened. Max quickly stood up and looked around frantically.

"Oh man!" she said. "Busted!" She shoved Steel into a room next to her and looked down to see some winter clothes sprawled out on the ground. She quickly threw them on, making sure they obscured the sight of her suit. She finished just in time as her mom came out and in front of Max.

She gave Max a strange look. "What are you wearing?"

"What? Oh, this!" Max said nervously. "Is it a bit nippy in here or is it just me?"

"Are you feeling okay? Are you coming down with something?" Molly put a hand to her daughter's forehead to check her temperature.

Max flinched a bit. "No! I mean, maybe. That would explain the coat!" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Steel come out of the room and swung around Max's mom. He put a hand to the bottom of his hull, his optic wide and curious. Max couldn't help but take a glance at Steel. Molly noticed and looked at where Max had glanced. Steel had made a swift movement to the other side of her. Max, not wanting either of them to be caught, started forward and swiped Steel out from the spot he was in. She held him under her arm, out of sight from her mom. Molly turned around.

"Well, you know, I should get to bed," Max said, slowly backing towards her room. "So goodnight." She quickly opened and shut the door. She put her back against it as Steel made his way out of Max's grip. She rubbed a hand down her face, sighing as she did so. She and Steel could have been caught. She looked Steel dead in the eye. He seemed to understand her distress.

"Yeah, I know," he said, letting his arms dang limply by his sides. Max nodded and walked over to her bed. She crashed on it. She was way too exhausted, considering the events of the day. She didn't even bother to question the reason why Steel was going into her closet. As soon as she closed her eyes, she was out like a light.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The next morning, she woke up with her head hurting. Her arms and legs were sore, her back felt like it was burning, and her throat was sore as well. She didn't understand why until what happened yesterday flooded back into her mind. She groaned.

"There goes the thought of it all being a bad dream," she said as she sat up. She walked over to her dresser and put her hair up in a high ponytail. There was a knocking at her door. When she opened it, she saw her mom standing outside.

"Hey, Mom!" Max said nervously. She hid herself behind the door as to hide the suit from her mom's view. "Everything... good?"

"Just making sure you're up," Molly said. "You need to be out the door in fifteen." With that, she walked off.

Max quickly shut the door and looked around when she remembered something else. "Steel?" He once again was no where in sight. That was when she heard a rustling behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and had to do a double take. Floating towards her was a heap of her clothes. She stumbled backwards and fell over. Sure that her mom had heard her crash, she called, "I'm okay! Situation normal!"

She got up and stared as Steel emerged from the floating bundle of clothes. "Why?"

"Utilizing security protocol Zed795," he explained. "I spent the night scanning your clothing to replicate your rather... unique look."

"Again. Why?"

"I figured that you wouldn't want to be seen in public with the SteelSuit fully visual. And since it's unsafe for you to remove the suit, through the use of sophisticated holographic refraction processes and advanced tactile warping algorithms, I can make it seem as though you're wearing your everyday attire."

Max scratched the back of her neck. "So... Camouflage mode."

"That is what I just said."

"And you didn't mention this yesterday because?"

Steel shrugged. "You never asked." He got into his little formation and did his thing. When the SteelSuit was done morphing, Max wasn't in the right clothes.

"What the-" She looked down at herself. She was in one of her mom's outfits.

"Ooh! Sorry. This was an outfit from your mother's closet."

"What were you doing in my mom's close-?" Her sentence was cut off as the SteelSuit morphed again. This time, in correct clothes.

She walked in front of her mirror. She was in jeans and a red jacket with a symbol across it that showed the form that Steel went to. The jacket turned from red to green to purple and finally stopped at a dark blue. The sleeves were rolled up to her elbows and the zipper wasn't all the way up, showing a gray shirt underneath.

"Whoa..." she gasped. Max was absolutely shocked. The outfit fit her perfectly. Steel popped out from the SteelSuit as Max just stared.

"Now you are safely contained in the SteelSuit while dressed in a typical fashion," Steel said. Max grabbed her backpack and held her hand out just behind Steel. She snatched him out of the air and put him in her bag. She zipped it mostly closed, then started outside before he had a chance to say anything.

* * *

Max walked through the halls when Karly got her attention. "Hey, Max," Karly said, shoving her hands in her pockets. "Thanks for what you did yesterday. Those bullies were really about break their knuckles on my face."

Max chuckled. "No prob, Karly."

"Let's totally hang out sometime. Let me give you my number." Karly pulled her phone out of her pocket. Max reached in her bag and pulled out the phone that she had with her. She shouldered he bag then looked at the phone in her hand. It wasn't hers. "Why is you're phone smoked? Literally?"

"Oh man!" Max exclaimed. "I totally forgot." She started walking off, giving Karly a _later_ sign. Max had totally forgotten about accidentally swapping phones with Decker. Not only that, but she had also destroyed the phone. "Decker is going to kill me."

"Who is this Decker fellow and why does he want you dead?" Steel asked. There was the voice in her head again. How was she ever going to get used to this?

"To summarize it? I blew his phone up with Turbo energy and I don't know how to fix it."

"May I see the device?"

Max tilted her head in confusion. "Why?"

"Just let me see it."

Max dropped the phone into her bag and walked into the cafeteria. Decker had said to meet up but he never said where so Max had to guess. The phone suddenly jumped out of the bag and into Max's hands. It was completely fixed, as if it wasn't ever broken in the first place.

"Steel, you are a life-saver," she whispered.

"Max, there you are!" a voice called. Max looked up to see Decker coming towards her. "Cool! You remembered to bring my phone."

"What? Oh this. Yep. Here you go!" The two swapped and Max shoved hers in her bag. Decker began scrolling through his phone.

"Max. That's amazing! You made me a playlist."

"I - I did?"

"You did," Steel's voice rang in her head.

"Oh. I... yeah, I did." Max smiled sheepishly. _Nice save, Max._

"But how? My phone couldn't even play music." Decker looked at Max expectantly.

"That would be because I... tinkered with it."

"Well, I can't wait to listen to it. I'll see you later, Maxine McGrath." Decker walked off, casting a last glance over his shoulder as he said Max's name. She waved him off and as soon as he was out of earshot, she dropped the act.

"A playlist?" she asked.

"He seems okay," Steel said. "For a human." Max heard her phone ding in her bag. Sighing, she took her bag off, reached for her phone, and read the message.

"Get to N-Tek after school," the message read. "Uncle Ferrus."

Max shrugged. She didn't have that much homework anyway. She didn't have to wait long either. She messaged him back saying that she would and stuffed her phone back in her bag.

* * *

Max ran through the streets, her bag banging against her back as she did. Forge had told her to go to one of the alleyways. Using her Turbo energy, she could reveal the entrance, but there were a few possible spots in the area for the entrance to be.

She reached the alleyway and it was deserted. It was lined with brick buildings that were covered in graffiti. Platforms were standing against the walls. Trash dumps were open and pushed against a wall as well. Steel flew out of her bag and hovered beside her as she looked around.

"Where did Uncle Ferrus say the entrance was again?" she asked. She flared and launched it at one of the walls. Nothing happened.

"Strike one!" Steel said.

"Okay..." She flared again and did the same thing. This time, something was revealed. It was like a race car painted green and white. Surrounding it seemed to be a blue pixel grid. "Whoa." She ran forward and jumped in the seat. Seat belts popped out and crossed over Max like an 'X'. Steel looked in front of her and the cockpit was a perfect fit for him. He went into the formation and the race car closed. They shot downwards. Both of them screamed. Max had been on roller-coasters before but they had never had a sheer drop like this. The car spun around a few times.

"This is awesome!" she shouted. If this was how she would get to N-Tek every time, then maybe she could tolerate this. The car came to a stop after a while in front of a huge door with a visible seal going across the middle. The huge, green N-Tek logo was on the door as well. The seat belts came off of her and she climbed out of the seat, her legs feeling slightly numb. Steel came up behind her.

Max took a deep breath. "Here we go," she said. She started forward, Steel by her side. The door opened up before them and behind it were Kat, Berto and Forge. They were all bent over a platform with a bunch of switches and buttons. They turned to Max and Steel.

"Ready to get started?" Forge asked.

"Ready," Max confirmed. She set her backpack on the ground and she and Steel walked into the room which Kat led them to. "Go Turbo!" Steel went into his formation and slammed onto the SteelSuit. Max felt the suit morph back into normal, or base mode, as she wanted to call it.

"Today, we're interested in learning your abilities and your bond with Steel." Forge gave a nod to Berto. He was holding a tablet and pressed something on it. Behind them, a huge robot rose out of the floor. "Knowing your limits will help us keep you and everyone around you safe." The robot took a huge leap and landed a few feet away from Max. She charged towards the robot, testing it out to see if she could knock it over without changing modes. That didn't work so well. The robot swung its arm around and knocked Max back a good distance.

"Okay," she said, steadying her breath. "Go Turbo! Strength!" The suit morphed into Strength mode. She clenched her fists as the robot ran towards her. This time, she was ready. She punched her hand through the robot's middle, causing it to go mostly limp. "Heads up Berto!" With her other hand, she knocked the robot's head clean off its body. It flew right to Berto who just barely managed to catch it. He stared blankly at Max who was already in a fighting stance, taunting him to send another one after her.

His eyes narrowed and Max took that as a "Challenge accepted." He pressed one of the buttons on his tablet and another one landed in front of her. She ran at it, thinking she could do the same thing she did with the last one. Yet again, she was mistaken. The robot was expecting this as he brought the arm up that had a blaster on it.

"Max, look out!" Steel shouted. Max jumped up in the air to avoid the shot but was blasted in the chest when she wasn't guarded. It knocked her back, slamming her against the wall. The SteelSuit morphed back into base mode. The helmet wasn't there either. Though, she didn't mind. She had the perfect plan to take the robot down.

But she knew Steel would hate it. She flipped out of the way when another shot was fired at her. Then another. And another. Only when she rounded a corner did she have to initiate her plan. With a lot of force, she managed to get Steel to disconnect, as confused as he was about what Max was doing.

Thankful that Steel was still in his position, she grabbed his stiff arm, leaped up in the air, and threw Steel like a boomerang to the hip joint of the robot. Steel cut through it like a knife through butter. The robot exploded as Max landed on her feet.

"Whoa!" Forge exclaimed.

_Good,_ Max thought. _I am able to surprise him._ She looked up and Steel floated around. His optic was a swirl, most likely meaning he was dizzy as heck. Max cringed as she reached out a little.

"Sorry, Steel," she said. He shook his hull and gave Max a look. He didn't like what she did, but he wasn't too mad about it.

Max heard Berto give a growl - however possible it was for him to growl - and a beep. Multiple robots shot out from behind him, each one landing at a fair distance from her.

"One, two, three," Steel counted as each one landed. "four, five, six." He hovered next to Max. He turned to her and shrugged. "You're it!" He tapped her shoulder and flew off, Max following behind.

"Go Turbo! Strength!" she shouted. She jumped in the air as Steel connected to the SteelSuit. It morphed into Strength mode. She looked from one robot to the next seeing which one was the closest. She took one out. Then another. She was about to take out a third when one of the robots blasted her forward. The SteelSuit morphed back into base mode as she got stuck to one of the robots. Only just after did the robot look down at her did it start spinning her.

She wasn't exactly how long she was spinning for but she knew when it stopped. She felt like her lunch was coming up her throat and her brain was in a tornado. She went into a panic when she looked down. She was way above one of the canyon pillars and was falling quickly.


End file.
